Mama's 2011 Year in Review

My year in review?  Wow, that's so hard, especially when I didn't start blogging until April.  Alas, I did have a life before blog (LBB), but not as easily documented I suppose.  Let's just jump right in, shall we?

January
January started off with a bang with a storm of snow enough to sled and play in on New Year's Day in Prescott, AZ. 

And we ended the month with my daughter's 5th birthday held at her favorite park at her request, Sunset Park in Sedona, AZ.

February
February brought my first 5k run at the Sedona Marathon.  Yep, I thought I was going to die and I didn't even run the entire thing.  I paced myself, you know?  A little bit of running.  A little more walking.  Wuss.  Out of shape.  All true statements.  But I was proud that I did it.  I'm proud that I didn't collapse and have the fire department cart me to the finish line.  Am I doing it this February you're wondering?  That'll be a no.
 

March
March brought an exciting move.  We moved about an hour away and into our new house.  We are now closer to my husband's family and hoping mine will someday be closer too. This is sunset in our neighborhood the evening we moved, March 1st, 2011.  I pulled over at one of the wide spots in the road and snapped this picture because I couldn't believe the orange tinge to it.  I didn't know then that I would have a million chances to capture beautiful sunsets from our back patio.

This is what we woke up to on March 2nd, 2011.  A welcome home snowstorm!

One more?  March also brought a trip to Laguna Beach, CA where Maddi was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding.  Beautiful wedding.  Beautiful Flower Girl.  Ham of a brother.

April
April found me quitting my job to do some freelancing work and pursue my dreams.  It also brought Jameson's 3rd birthday, decked out Toy Story style.  Here, he's helping me make the cake he picked out.

May
May is a busy month in our house.  Mother's Day, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, school year ends, Memorial Day. 

Here, our daughter is excited to graduate preschool.  Ms. Thang, if you will.

June
By now, summer was in full swing.  Something happened in June, I just don't know what.  My parents had a wedding anniversary and my sister had a birthday.

July
We're back on the map in July!  July is also busy around here what with the 4th of July, my husband's birthday, his parent's wedding anniversary and a new nephew born this year.

August
Our summer is winding down here as school starts the beginning of August.  Wha-Wha-Whattt?  Yepperoni.  We're back to the grindstone and I blogged about that first day of kindergarten.

September
September started Maddi in soccer which was an interesting adventure. 

September also meant Friday Night Lights and football in general.

October
October meant Fall Break, blogging about A Week in my Life, and Halloween.

November
Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day Parade and Thanksgiving at my parent's house!

December
Is an explanation necessary?  As soon as the decorations went up the kids went crazy wanting to know, "When is Christmas?"  So I made an advent calendar and we counted every single day.  December was full of Christmas spirit, fun and wonderment.

'Twas the Night Before...

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!

{Book Review} The Magic Room

I've done a lot of reading this month, so how about some book reviews?  Tonight's is The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow.  As it says on the cover, it's "a story about the love we wish for our daughters".  I was immediately drawn in, simply from the cover. 

Source: Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
You may not have heard of Fowler, Michigan, much less Becker's Bridal. But for the thousands of women who have stepped inside, Becker's is the site of some of the most important moments of their lives-moments that speak to us all. Housed in a former bank, the boutique owners transformed the vault into a "magic room," with soft church lighting, a circular pedestal, and mirrors that make lifelong dreams come true.

Illuminating the poignant aspects of a woman's journey to the altar, The Magic Room tells the stories of memorable women on the brink of commitment. Run by the same family for years, Becker's has witnessed transformations in how America views the institution of marriage; some of the shop's clientele are becoming stepmothers, or starting married life for a second time. In The Girls from Ames, beloved author Jeffrey Zaslow used friendships to explore the emotional lives of women. In The Magic Room, he turns his perceptive eye to weddings and weaves together secrets, memories and family tales to explore the hopes and dreams we have for our daughters.

*************
My Review
Yes, immediately I was drawn in.  One night I stayed up till 4AM just reading and getting all misty-eyed meeting these brides and reading about them.  

There are eight brides featured in this book and their stories are sure to delight, make you smile, make your cry, make you cringe, make you remember, make you think about the future.  I know I did.  I have a daughter.  Someday she'll probably get married.  Who will she marry?  How many frogs will she kiss before the right one comes along? What is her story between now and then?  And then after?  Certainly questions I can't answer now, but I am so looking forward to learning the answers.

First line:
"It's 9:20 a.m. on a Tuesday in July, and Shelley Becker Mueller, owner of Becker's Bridal, stands at the store's back door jiggling her key in the lock."

 

Favorite quote:

"When Becker's Bridal hosts their 'Blowout Sample Sale,' Shelly and Alyssa never know who will show up, or what secrets they carry with them...there are always families who've arrived here with a lifetime of bittersweet memories." p. 208

I suppose that quote sums this whole book up into a tight little nutshell. That's exactly what it's about - we get a sneak peek into a handful of bride's lives and how they arrived at "the magic room", all from the perspective of the Becker family who has owned the store for more than 70 years. 

Dislike moment:
Oh come on, I don't know what to call it.  In essence, the part I didn't like.
While I liked all the Becker family women, Alyssa, the youngest, now possibly the next heiress to the store, made me a little crazy with her whole deal.  She is 24.  She works at a bridal store. Her boyfriend won't commit yet (he works at the bridal store in the back office).  Uncomfortable?  He is not ready.  She has this to say near the end when she is trying on gowns for fun after hours.  "A part of Alyssa, though, wonders if her time will ever come.  After she gets out of the wedding gown, she plants herself in a comfortable chair on the sales floor, exhales, then tells Mona with mock exasperation: 'Maybe my mom and I will be the last two spinsters in Fowler.  We'll just live our sad little lives, and keep selling wedding gowns to everyone else.'"  p. 242 

To me, that just smacks of yuck and desperation and passive aggressiveness.

To learn more about this book and the brides (or share your own story), visit the author's website at MagicRoomBook.com.  You can also join the growing discussion on this book by visiting The Magic Room book discussion on BlogHer.


Find me on Goodreads!


Disclaimer:  This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A Crafting Flop and a Crafting Succcess {RWOP}

Mmmmkay.  I'm back with another offering from some of my recent Pinterest pins.  I had some flops this week which I'm really sad about, but I guess you can't win 'em all, eh?

First off, a serious flop.  This is the original I was using as my muse. 

From Etsy seller AlexandraNoel

Go ahead, that link above will take you right to her Etsy shop so you can buy one instead of crafting one if you're so inclined.  I should have done that in the first place. 

Things started off strong.  Here, I have my supplies prepared.

Getting right down to business, I tied a knot in the back and started rolling that hunk of yarn around the wreath form.  It took me about an hour to get this far.

Nice holes in that foam, you say?  My son thought it was made for poking in pencils months ago.

By this point my back was killing me.  I was obsessively scooching the yarn together so the white space didn't show. I was exhausted. Yet I forged on for nearly half the wreath before I  decided that was quite enough.  My eyes hurt.  So I set all my supplies aside and decided I'd continue another day. 

Time passed.  At least a week.  And still the yarn sat there attached to the form with the scissors sitting tauntingly next to it.  Tauntingly to whom?  Oh, certainly not to me.  I forgot about the project altogether.  No. Tauntingly to my son.  Why would scissors be sitting next to this thing but for cutting?

This is how I found it a few days later.  Severed.  All that hard work. 

Some crafty divine goddess would laugh in my face for feeling defeat. Pick it up, tie it off and begin where it once ended. That's what she would say, I just know it.  But at that moment, and even still today, I didn't want to hear it.  It still sits like that, severed.  Though I bundled it up and threw it back in its craft bag so I don't have to look at it every day.  I'll save it for another day when I feel up to tackling that thing again. 

Lessons Learned a.k.a. Tips For Next Time a.k.a. I Learned the Hard Way So You Don't Have To

• It takes a LONG time to wrap a standard size wreath form, unless you are a super-human crafting goddess.  Next time?  I'm going with the mini-wreath form. Start small and perfect it.
• Keep crafting materials out of the reach of children.  Their curiousity cannot be curbed and they love to "help". 

OK, enough with the Debbie Downer 'tude.  How about a success?  This was super easy and super delicious. 

BBQ Chicken in Crockpot

Courtesy of this pin.  Originally posted by Stick A Fork In It. Go on, go visit.

I mean S-U-P-E-R easy.

Frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot.  Got some BBQ sauce on hand?  And vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic powder? You're golden.  Stir it up and pour over chicken and cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Click here to jump to the original recipe.


We went down to the courthouse to look at the lights and came home well after normal dinner time.  Instead of grabbing food on the way home or trying to throw something together when we got home - open crockpot and dinner's done!  The kids asked for seconds, even.  This is going in the "thumbs up" pile.

Linking up with the Real Women of Pinterest.
 

 

HappiTaps Review: Great Stocking Stuffer for Toddler!

Recently I was graced with the HappiTapps Beary Happi Bear gadget and FREE iPhone app, touted as, "your loveable huggable smartphone friend".  Or, more accurately, my kids were. 

Normally, I don't let my kids anywhere near my iPhone.  Occassionally though, we let them play with my husband's iPod Touch.  Since it's not an everyday occurence that they get this privilege, it is a really special occassion for them.  So when I broke out the soft, cushy HappiTaps Beary Happi bear, slid it over my iPhone so they could hold onto it safely and showed them the app they could play with, they were over the moon with excitement. 

Both kiddos - Figuring it out together

He really loved this lil' thing!

The best quip came from my daughter.  "Ewwwww, he ate a bug!"  This was a good lesson on what bears eat. 

Feeding time!

The kids sat next to each other and watched the other one feed the bear, put him to sleep, play peekaboo, sing and listen as the bear told them stories.  There are other activities available for download (in app) but there is plenty to keep the kiddos busy with the free version. 

The worst part of all? Listening to the one who wasn't playing at the moment whine about it being their turn!  My personal recommendation is this is great for kids 4 and under. There's even a "Toddler Mode" that you can choose and it will shuffle through all the activities automatically.
Take a look-see at this YouTube video, it's under one minute in length and gives you a good overview of what it's all about. 




You can purchase your very own HappiTaps Beary Happi bear for $19.99 from the website HappiTaps.com and download the app for FREE from the same website or the iTunes app store (search "Beary Happi"). 


Disclosure:  I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Infantino HappiTaps and received a HappiTaps Beary Happi Bear to facilitate my review and to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Menu Plan Monday: What's For Dinner?

It's cold, cloudy, foggy, grey and snowing as I type this and all I can think about cooking is warm, cozy, put-some-meat-on-those-bones food this week.  So, in that spirit, here is my menu plan for this week.  *Subject to getting thrown out the window at a moment's notice.*

Monday - Chicken & Dumplings - The most serious of all comfort foods.  This recipe is from Rachael Ray and is delicious.  It makes several appearances at our house over the fall and winter months.  Tonight I'm mixing green onions into the biscuit dough.

Source

Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognese (in the crockpot) - #2 on the list of serious comfort foods.

Wednesday - Steak (or chicken) and baked potatoes with all the fixin's.

Thursday - Cheese Enchiladas with Mama's homemade Hatch green enchilada sauce.  Kids will have quesadillas and black beans.  I plan to have this all prepped and ready that morning because it is Holiday Program Night at my daughter's school!

Friday - Ginger Chicken, potstickers, rice - and about four pieces of coconut shrimp from the freezer.

Saturday - Carne Adovada - I need to post this recipe, it's delish.

Sunday - Pizza and salad.

What's for dinner at your house this week?  If you're stumped, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the linky where you'll find you won't be stumped for long! 

Decorating the Christmas Tree {Memories Captured}

There's a lot going on here this week, but today I'm home with a sick daughter so I thought I would do a little creating while we're vegging and watching movies on the couch.  This photo is busy, eh?  And so are my two kids, so it's just about right then.  I got this idea from Galit Breen of These Little Waves who pinned it on Pinterest. 

I actually made a few of these. The above is a bit more generalized. I also made separate photos for each kid that were more personalized which I'll put in small frames and then save in their baby books. I would love to do this every year as their likes, interests and personalities evolve.

A few more shots from the night we decorated our Christmas tree.  For the last three years Maddi has worn the holiday headband when we decorate and I think it's adorable because before she came along I used to wear it. (Though now that I'm looking at that strip, I see she took it off, but it is in the top picture).  I'll be looking for a holiday tie or something equally adorable for JMan to start wearing for decorating purposes.

Linking up with Galit and Alison for Memories Captured. 

And since I did indeed create the top photo from a Pinterest pin, I am linking up with the Real Women of Pinterest also! I promise my next Pinterest post won't be so weak.  :D

When Is Christmas? Advent Calendar Time! {Mama Kat's Writing Workshop}

A favorite question around here begins with, "When is...?"  Insert any holiday, birthday, big trip, small trip or next meal or snack and that is the story of my life.  Probably a very similar story to lots of moms out there.  A never ending countdown to the next biggest thing when all I want to do is relish that tomorrow is Friday, nothing more. 

Never before have I done an Advent Calendar with the kids, but I have been stricken with the craft bug lately, thanks to Pinterest (mwah).  So when I saw Mama Kat's writing prompt,  3). The first of December is upon us! Describe an Advent Calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). (Inspired by Classy Chaos). 

What did I do next?  Well, I went to Pinterest and started looking for advent calendar ideas, of course, and found the most perfect one for me to try from the lovely ladies at eighteen25.  It didn't look terribly complicated, or require wrapping 25 individual items.  Score!  The next day I went to my local craft store and stocked up on supplies. I think out the door I spent $15 to make this calendar.  That price is a testament to my craft beginnings - I didn't even have Mod Podge (or know how to use it or what it was), or ribbon, or brads, or anything really. 

Down to business now.  Supplies gathered.  Before this picture I typed out the words "...days until Christmas" in a fancy font and attached red shiny rhinestones to the dot on the i's (instead of brads). 

Then I went on YouTube to see exactly how to do Mod Podge.  Good thing I did.  I was imagining something like paper mache - where one brushes the liquid over the TOP of the paper (which apparently you can do, but not for this project).  If you want to know how to Mod Podge, here's the video I watched:




Going for it now.  Yeah, that's Mod Podge right over the price tag of the clipboard and everything.  I'm crazy like that.

And then...I combined a few steps here.  My paper is adhered to the board now, and while I'm waiting for that to dry a little, I tied my bow.  A bow-maker, I am not.

A few more steps combined for the below picture.  I trimmed off the excess paper, used my Fiskars paper cutter that I had from my days of scrapbooking to trim down the red and the white paper and stuck those on with more Mod Podge.  I also used sandpaper to rough up (sand down?) the edges of the Santa paper.  I don't know why.  Because the girl in the video did it, I guess.  I don't think that's necessary, but it did clean up the edges a bit since I was hacking at the paper with scissors instead of something called a craft knife. 

Well, that's pretty much it!  I printed the days out, trimmed them up and clipped them on the board.  Snagged a plate holder and ta-dah!  Displayed! 

Lessons Learned  a.k.a. Tips For Next Time a.k.a. I Learned the Hard Way So You Don't Have To

• A craft knife would probably be very useful to cut the edges of the paper.or
• Buy 8.5 x 11"  scrapbook paper.
• Scoot the paper up to the top - underneath the clippy thing on the board - mine looks short and weird.
• Buy cardstock (for the red and the white paper) like the nice ladies at eighteen25 said in their instructions.  Sturdy.
• Consider buying one of those roll-y brushes that the girl used in the YouTube video.  Quite handy to get all the air bubbles out, I imagine.  I tried to do the same thing with a can of green beans.  The effect was not the same.

Happy December 1st!  24 more days until Christmas!

Do you do an Advent Calendar?  I showed you mine, now show me yours!